1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pattern producing method and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
Increasingly miniaturized semiconductor devices have made it difficult to form a desired circuit pattern true to a design pattern on semiconductor wafers. Thus, the design pattern is normally subjected to optical proximity correction (OPC).
However, OPC may result in a defect (or hot) spot in which pattern size, inter-pattern distance, or the like fails to meet a predetermined condition. In this case, pattern correction and verification need to be repeated until the defect spot is eliminated (see, for example, Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2006-53248).
However, when the pattern correction and verification are performed on the entire design pattern, much time is required to obtain a final pattern free from defect spots.